I see the departure of Marquis Fernand and his daughter, Falnor, before getting on my way back. They are returning by the carriage pulled by their valet to the main village where my father and brother are. Marquis Fernand invited me to go back to the main village with them and have a dinner together, but I politely refused. This is my choice. I won’t see my father or brother until the selection ceremony.
Besides, I don’t have much time. It’s essential to gain an ability within the short remaining time. I go back to my house, determined to deliberately reflect on a method to train starting tomorrow and how to make the preparation.
From the morning, I head over to the reclamation site with Tina, because I have something I must tell the villagers. As Tina and I arrives at the site, the workers greets me one after another. I return their greetings then ask them to gather before me.
“Everyone, I apologize. I have something important to tell you.”
My words cause quite a stir around me.
“I think there are those among you who already knows. Five days from now, I will have a duel with my younger brother Jorg in the selection ceremony. Whoever wins will become the next feudal lord, but if I lose, they promised me that I could still stay in this village.”
The villagers look relieved. It must be the relief from knowing that I won’t leave this village even if I lose, isn’t it?
“However… That promise is overruled. If I were to lose, I have to return to the main village and leave this village’s management in Jorg’s hand.”
Every villager’s face turns sour in one breath.
“No way, that good-for-nothing?”
“I haven’t heard anything good about him. Even his blood relatives are lamenting his idiocy, you know?”
“I heard once that he squeezed out his brother’s talent.”
I can hear the noises everywhere. The people in this village originally comes from other villages; they obviously have heard the rumors about Jorg. He has a bad reputation from doing anything he wants using his parents’ influence.
“I don’t want to hand over this village to him. I want to avoid any misfortune befalling everyone of you, because I really love this village. For that sake, until the selection ceremony, I wish for the time to devote myself on the preparation. I wish to do the special training for the duel in the remaining time.”
I bow.
“If I’m not here, you naturally will need to deal with any problems as well as wounded people, but I truly won’t be able to work on the reclamation for a short while. I apologize for burdening you guys, but no matter what, I want to win.”
My surroundings become silent. Then, someone open his mouth, “Please raise your head, Young Master. How could we not be okay with that?”
“Hear, hear. We’ve been spoiled too much by Young Master.”
“A week is nothing. We can do something about it by ourselves.”
“Actually, if Kurt-sama doesn’t win because you don’t do it, let alone a week, we won’t be able to meet your eyes for our lifetime.”
“That’s absolutely true.”
The villagers all laugh at the same time.
“Kurt-sama, please don’t mind about the matter here. We’ve been doing this with Kurt-sama, we’ve learned many things from you. We can do with ourselves. That’s why, do the special training or anything with all your power. In exchange, please win it for us too.”
Heat wells up inside my chest. “Forgive me. Thank you,” I answer shortly with constricted voice.
“I’m going to say it, but Kurt-sama, you won’t leave this village even after you become the feudal lord, right?”
“That’s a given, because I’m going to make this an even better village.”
Then, I stand up and leave the spot. If I sit idle longer here, I’m going to show them my embarrassing figure. For my sake as well as theirs, I must win.
Returning to home, I’m standing in the kitchen.
“Kurt-sama, which special training are you going to do?”
“Cooking.”
“Huh?” Tina stares at me, looking dumbfounded. Well, I understand why she would.
“If I practice cooking, I’ll become stronger. It’s a method that can only be done by me. There is a special training that cannot be done without overwhelming talent and advanced food preparation technique, you know?”
“Talent and food preparation technique, you say?”
“I obtained Magic, and it gave me the knowledge about the mechanism of the world. Thanks to that, I realized what would be the ultimate method for special training.”
My all seeing eyes taught me about the mechanism of proficiency. There’s a hole in that mechanism by that will improve the proficiency in a thoroughly efficient way. That is cooking.
When Tina heard the word Magic, her ears standing up and her eyes sparkling. “Amazing! Magic? What kind of Magic is it?”
Her surprise is understandable. A person who can use mana will only appear in every 1,000 people to begin with. And people who can the power that is the very essence of themselves called Magic only appears one in every one hundred people. In other words, one in a 100,000 people. Obtaining magic means being lucky…. but there’s also the scary part.
“I’ll say this beforehand: Don’t ever spill it to others. You’re the only one I can tell.”
“Only me… Only for me…”
Tina grabs her hand while being dazed. Working a lot of waters, those hands are ruined and chapped. It’s the hands of hardworkers.
“Tina, do your hands hurt?”
“It does hurt a little, but I can tune it off completely, so please don’t worry about it.”
“Let’s heal it. I’m able to do that, because my power is recovery magic.”
Boosting mana, using Recovery. In an instant, Tina’s whole body appears in in my mind.
“Amazing! My hands are pretty! I’m so happy! It was actually really tough,” Tina speaks in overjoyed voice, looking at her smooth hands. As a girl, she seems happier to have them pretty again even when her wounds are all gone.
“Tina, do you feel any change besides from that?”
“Change? Now that you said it, somehow, I can feel something warm overflowing inside me. What is this, it’s the first time I feel this kind of sensation.”
Looking bewildered, she hugs her body. I understood everything. Tina’s mana has awakened.
When I used Recovery, I knew about her. Only one in a thousand people could use mana was a misconception. The truth is, anyone can handle mana. However, people who are born with the organ healthy enough to bring forth mana are only one in a hundred.
In other words, if I cast Recovery, anyone can have their mana-generating organ be healed, enabling that person to use mana thereafter.
I gulp.
People who uses mana are precious. Alone, they can work more than a few soldiers’ worth. The ability to create as many soldiers as I wish? This is too dangerous.
And it’s not only that. My recovery can heal practically any wounds or sickness as long as my target is alive. I can even “heal” aging. I can make an army corps who will never age. That’s my Recovery. If anyone finds out about it, it’ll be more than just troublesome.
“Oh no, something, it’ll overflow.” Tina’s newly awakened mana is toying with her. Softly, I put my hand against her back and suppress her mana. Next, I’ll have to teach her how to use it.
“Tina, listen to me carefully. That power is mana. The mana inside you has awakened.”
“My mana…”
“Yes, now concentrate on my hand on your back.”
“It’s strange, I can feel Kurt-sama’s warmth flowing into my body.”
“Yes, it’s a good feeling. Now, turn your consciousness to my warmth inside you.”
“Yes, I can feel Kurt-sama inside me.”
“Then, try to follow along with my power by yourself, using that something strange inside you.”
“Chasing after Kurt-sama’s heat. This, it feels good.”
Inside Tina, her mana circulation has begun. Tina has used the mana controlling principle. I remove my hand. It should be all right now.
“Congratulations, Tina. You can properly control your mana now.”
“This kind of… Being able to use mana by myself this easily… Is this because of Kurt-sama’s Magic?” After Tina looks at her hands strangely, she asked.
“That’s right, though it’s just by chance. Originally, everyone is born with mana. But many people have their organ damaged, the one that will bring it forth. When I used Recovery on Tina, I healed it along with your hands.”
“Is that so…. But I’m happy! With this, I can be even more useful to Kurt-sama! I can bring heavier stuffs and protect Kurt-sama!”
I grasp her fists tightly, causing her ears to stand up rigid. “I’m happy with your feelings. But still, if someone finds out that anyone can use mana, I’ll be in a great danger, even get killed as the worst consequence. So, this is just our secret.”
“Yes! I’ll definitely keep it as a secret.”
Tina bows with stern face. I’m glad Tina was the first one I used this Recovery to. This could cause countless troubles to the target.
We probably could keep this our secret. To some extent, there are many people who have their mana awakened for the first time after some years. And I’m not worried that she will telltale others about me being the one who awakens her mana.
“Now, then, that’s a little detour, but I should start now. The special training.”
Putting a cabbage on the cutting board and cutting it with a knife, I feel fired up.